Page 139 of Better Late Than Never

“So much.” He grabbed my hips and thrust up into me, moaning almost as if he were in pain. “I need to come, baby. I need—fuck, you feel so good. I need…”

“Come,” I gritted out. “Come for me.”

As if the words had been an incantation, he jerked beneath me and pulled me down onto him, still thrusting up as if he could get even deeper as he cried out with the force of his orgasm. I kept rocking my hips as much as his grip allowed, trying to drive him on, and I kept pumping myself as my own orgasm barreled toward me.

Beneath me, he relaxed with a heavy sigh. “Holy fuck.” He stilled my hips, biting his lip and squeezing his eyes shut as he lay there a moment. I got it—he was probably sensitive as all hell from his orgasm.

“Want me to get up?” I asked.

“No.” He opened his eyes, then reached for my neck and drew me down, and his breathless kiss almost had me coming between our bodies. When he broke away, he whispered, “Hand me the lube.”

I felt around on the sheets, found the bottle, and pressed it into his hand.

“Stay just like that,” he whispered as he opened the bottle. “I want to make you come while I’m still in you.”

I bit my lip, genuinely surprised I didn’t come right then and there, especially when he started pouring the lube on his hand. “Please.”

His grin was wicked and his eyes were on fire as he started stroking me with his slick hand. He was still hard inside me, and he rocked his hips just enough to keep up that amazing stimulation. Along with what he was doing with his hand—Jesus Christ.

I leaned back, putting him at a perfect angle against my prostate, and I released a shuddering breath as I matched the movements of his hips.

“Fuck, you’re hot,” he whispered. “God, yeah, baby.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, fucking into his hand and on his hard dick as I chased my orgasm, and he murmured encouragement and curses as I started to come unraveled.

“Fuck, Connor,” he rasped. “You areso hot.”

And just like that, I was there, shouting my release as I came between our bodies, and Alex kept right on talking, telling me how sexy I was, how much he loved watching me come. How much he loved me.

When I sank down into his arms, I was trembling and out of breath, and nothing had ever felt more like home than this.

How did you ever think I wanted to live without you?

I didn’t say that, though. I understood why he’d pulled away. I was just relieved I’d persuaded him that, yes, I was all in. I wanted him, and this, and everything we could be, and this moment—being as close as two people could possibly be—was so perfect I almost cried.

I pulled myself together, though, and we finally managed to separate. We cleaned up, though we’d still need a shower at some point, and returned to bed. It was too hot for covers, but that was fine—the air was comfortable, and Alex’s warm skin against mine was never unwelcome.

After a while, he whispered, “Thank you. For not giving up on us.”

“Of course.” I pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I wasn’t going to twist your arm if you really didn’t want to be with me, or if you didn’t want to take the risk, but calling it quits just felt… wrong.”

Alex relaxed more into my embrace. “It did. I was just afraid…” He trailed off into a sigh. “I’m sorry. About everything. I was?—”

“You don’t need to be sorry.” I kissed his forehead again, then his mouth. “I know other people have convinced you you’re not worth the effort, but they’re wrong. The way I feel for you—that’s worth all the work it takes to be with you.”

He held me tighter and sniffed.

I closed my eyes and stroked his hair as we lay in silence. He’d spent so much time believing he wasn’t worthy. I had every intention of spending even more time—maybe even the rest of my life—showing him he absolutely was.

“I love you,” I murmured. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Alex took a deep breath, then drew back enough to meet my gaze. His eyes were a little wet, but he was smiling. “I love you, too. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m glad you’re too stubborn to let go without a fight.”

“You better believe it.” I lifted my chin and kissed him lightly. “All the secrecy—that’s temporary. We’ll get through that. And then…” I grinned. “Then we won’t have anything holding us back anymore.”

Disbelief sketched across his face, but after a second, he smiled, and he cupped my cheek as he leaned in for another kiss. “I think I can handle that.”

“Me too.” I glanced down at our sweaty bodies, then met his eyes again. “We should clean up.” I slid my hand along his inner thigh. “Join me for a shower?”

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